High-level committee set up to probe Nowgam explosion: J&K Police

 Facing questions over handling of a large cache of explosives, the J&K Police on Thursday said a high-level committee has been constituted to look into the incident.

A police spokesman said the high-level committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of Principal Secretary, Home Department. It has Inspector General of Police, Kashmir Zone, District Magistrate, Srinagar, and a senior scientist from Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory (CFSL), Government of India, as members.

Nine people, including policemen, were killed in an “accidental blast” at the Nowgam Police Station on the night of November 14. Around 2,900 kg of explosives, including ammonium nitrate, was seized by the Nowgam police station during raids in Faridabad on November 9-10. The police station was investigating the inter-State terror module and arrested seven locals in the case.

The police said it was an “accidental explosion”, and warned against “conjectures and efforts to mislead the public”.

There were growing demands from political parties, including the ruling National Conference, CPI(M) and the Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to conduct fair investigation into the handling of the explosives by the police.

At the time of the explosion, no senior official or scientist from the FSL was present at the spot. The hiring of a civilian tailor has also been questioned. The political parties also questioned the move to amass the explosives at a police station located at a congested locality of Nowgam in Srinagar.

At least 32 people, including 27 police personnel, were also injured in the explosion.